


The Engagement

by suallenparker



Series: The Engagement Universe [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Green Card, pretend engagement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-22
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-03-08 16:09:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3215336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suallenparker/pseuds/suallenparker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To save Melinda May from being deported to Canada, Phil Coulson proposes. Things get complicated when Melinda’s ex fiancé Thomas Wen, an U.S. immigration agent starts snooping around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My next big multi chapter story! I’m very excited for this because it features one of my ever favorite tropes. I hope you’ll enjoy this too. As always, I look forward of doing this journey with you! Let me know what you think! 
> 
> Big thanks to ddagent for listening to my ramblings about the story. You’re wonderful!

Her fingers crumbled the piece of paper in her hand. The letter had waited at her desk where she had put it before she started her day at work. The post man had handed it to her when Melinda stepped out of her apartment house this morning. She had wanted to open it, but she didn't want to be late and work had been so busy with meeting new clients so she had forgotten about it. Ten minutes ago, she had opened it. Her palms sweated. She just wanted to hide. She just wanted this to go away. But this wasn't how it worked. Melinda swallowed hard and made her way to her partner's office. The other offices and the lab were already empty. Skye usually worked at home anyway and Trip was with a client and wouldn't return before next Friday.

November was always a busy month for them, so she wasn't surprised that Phil was still here. Just like she had hoped he'd be, he sat at his desk. They usually started the yearly security check ups and updates with clients. May & Coulson Inc. took great pride in providing their clients with the best safety nets for their companies that money could possibly buy. Phil and she met with new clients and assessed their businesses to see what kind of security systems they would need or how to optimize the systems already in place. Sometimes she got to test the already installed systems for weak spots, which was always fun.

And she would have to leave all this. The letter in her right hand said so. Her green card would expire next March and she would have to go back to Canada. She didn't want it to be that true yet. And telling him would make it so very real. But she had to deal with it.

Phil stared at the empty room in front his him, his lips pressed together. His hands lay on the table, folded together, clenching. Something was wrong. Well, everything was wrong, but something was wrong with him too.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Audrey and I broke up and I'd rather be alone.” He didn't even look at her. His voice was almost cold.

“Phil?” She wanted to go to him. She wanted to hug him and comfort him. Audrey meant a lot to him, she knew. She could see it every time she had witnessed the two of them in the same room. Audrey had been good for him. And now he looked so very sad.

He shook his head and finally their gazes met. “You never call me,” he said quietly.

She squinted. What was he talking about? Why were they talking about her?

“Well, you do call,” he said and pulled up his shoulders slightly. “But only if it's business or someone's in the hospital or something. You never call just to talk.”

“You call me.” She loved when he called her. She didn't want to leave him in March. She didn't want to see him in pain. She just wanted to stay with him.

“I do call, don't I?” He shook his head again and stared at the blank space again, before he blinked and frowned at her. “Is there something you wanted?”

“It can wait.” He was hurting and she didn't want to burden him. She swallowed hard. She didn't want to leave. After his mother had passed, he had allowed her to be there for him. He had called her back in his life. She wanted to stay with him so badly. “Call me if you need something,” she said.

He snorted. “Don't I always?”

She had no idea what he meant. But she obeyed his wishes and left. She would tell him later.

  


o0o

  


Las Vegas itself hadn't been the reason she fought so hard to stay there. Sure, it was a great city that suited all her needs. Her business was running well. She had a life here. A really good one. But the main reason she wanted to stay was Phil. Which was weak and pathetic, given the fact that he was still heartbroken over a woman who broke up with him two months ago.

Melinda bit her lip and quickened up her pace. It was Sunday, it was sunny and she carried a bag of four delicious croissants to visit Phil. He loved croissants. She hoped they might soften the blow of her news a bit. A spoon full of sugar …

She really didn't want to leave him. She wanted to stay and help her best friend, her very best friend to get over his heartache instead of adding more to it. She knew her leaving would hurt him. He may not love her in the same way she loved him, but he cared.

Her cell rang and Melinda reached into the right pocket of her leather jacket to retrieve it. One look at the caller ID made her smile. - And gave her a sharp pinch of sadness.

“Hi, Victoria,” she greeted her friend with a smile. Another dear person she would have to leave behind.

“Hi!” Victoria said, “What are you doing?”

“Did I forget a meeting?”

“No, sorry,” Victoria added quickly. “Today Anna and I meet with the chef again to finalize the menu. Are you pro or contra dessert buffet?”

“Pro.” Melinda grinned.

“Isn't that indulgent?”

“Isn't that the point?”

“You're right.”

“Glad I could help.” She loved how happy Victoria sounded. She was so happy for the both of them! Through all the craziness with her green card, her two friends' wedding had been that one bright spot in her life. But she felt there was more. “Anything else?”

“You should tell Coulson about you leaving.”

Melinda sighed. “I'm on my way to talk to him now.” She had just reached his apartment building, to be exact. “And then on Monday I will tell the team. Skye will be -” She sighed heavily. Skye would be heartbroken and pretend to be brave, but Melinda knew her. She would take it just as hard as Phil would. She wished she could spare them all.

“I know.” Victoria took a deep breath. “What about Thomas' offer?”

Melinda choose not to answer. She smiled briefly at the porter of Phil's apartment building as she walked past him.

“Have you thought about it?” asked Victoria.

Of course she had thought about it! Melinda passed the elevator button for up. “I'm not gonna marry him just to stay in the country,” she said. Five years ago, she had refused to marry Thomas for the first time and her feelings towards him hadn't changed. “Besides, shouldn't you focus on your own wedding? The one in less than two weeks?”

“We'll just miss you terribly.”

“I'll miss you too.” Melinda stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to Phil's floor.

“Maybe marrying Thomas isn't a bad idea,” Victoria said. “He works for immigration and nobody would suspect the two of you. It'll look like old love rekindled.”

But it wouldn't be. She had never loved him. Not like he had wanted her too. If she'd agree to marry him, he'd expect her to fall for him. The elevator set itself in motion.

“You're right, you're right,” Victoria said and sighed again.

She was in such a mess. She hated this! The elevator stopped and the door opened.

“I'm at Phil's, I have to hang up.” She stepped out of the elevator. She wanted to turn around and leave. She wanted to pretend it all was still okay. But she had been running form this too long.

“Are you still coming for the dress fitting on Wednesday?”

“Wouldn't miss it.” She wished it would be Wednesday already so she would have this talk behind her. And she wished it would still be September and that she wouldn't know and everything would still feel okay.

“See you then,” Victoria said.

“See you then.” They both hung up.

Melinda her hand through her hair to smooth it down, before she rang the door bell. It took him a minute to open it. His hair was ruffled. He wore an old grey t-shirt and black sweatpants. And he was on the phone. He smiled at her in happy surprise, before he rolled his eyes.

“Mr. Stark, as I told you before, I don't control their budgets. I don't even work there!” He rolled his eyes again and tilted his head as he looked at Melinda. Of course he was wondering what she was doing here.

She raised the bag of croissants.

He smiled again, but another eye roll followed suit. “Not since 2011.” he said annoyed. “I'm hanging up.” And he did. “Hi, May.”

“Hi.”

“Tony Stark is a pain in my ass,” he said.

She lifted a brow. “Tell him to hire us to talk to Maria about his budget.”

“I love how you think.” He grinned at her.

And she just had to grin back. “I just feel he should pay us to annoy you.” She had missed conversations like this. Ever since his breakup with Audrey, they were a rare occasion. He hadn't talked to her about his breakup. He had informed her and then he had sent her away. And ever since then, he was withdrawn.

Now he nodded at the bag in her hand with a happy smile. “You brought me croissants!” Then he squinted at her. “Is something wrong? Did we lose a client? Are these consoling croissants?”

“Can I come in?” she asked. She'd rather not discuss it out here.

“Of course.” He stepped out of the doorway. “I make tea.”

She followed him to the kitchen, where he swiftly put on the electric water kettle and placed green tea leafs into the big strainer of a modern glass tea pot. She got two plates, two saucers and two cups from one of the cupboards and set the table.

“It's really bad, isn't it?” he asked as he took two spoons and two knives from a drawer.

Pressing her lips together, she turned to the fridge to get butter and jam.

“Just tell me,” he said. “I can take it. Maybe we'll have to tell Skye that the hardware updates she wants have to wait, but I'm almost immune to her pouting by now.”

She wanted to tell him that he was just lying to himself about Skye's pouting and that they both knew he would just cave and pay for whatever she needed anyway, but she had procrastinated this conversation long enough. She took a deep breath, before she said, “I have to move back to Vancouver.”

“Excuse me?”

She carried butter and jam to the table. “My green card will expire in March.” She glanced at him.

He stared back, his eyes wide open. “I don't understand.”

“We planned on expanding anyway and another office based there might be good business and it's just a three hour flight. Nothing has to change.”

“You're moving out of the country!” He threw his hands up in the air. “You could've just told me you want out, I would've let you go, I could try to disburse you -”

“You're being unfair.” She put the butter and the jam on the table and turned to him. The water came to a boil and the kettle switched itself off.

“Since when do you know?”

Crap. She swallowed. “Last November.”

“You've known for two months and haven't told me?”

“I tried to tell you, I tried to stop this but -”

“You blindsided me!”

“You just broke up with Audrey when I tried to tell you. I didn't want to burden you, I didn't want to -”

“Burden me?” He snorted. “So instead you'll just walk out after all we've been through, you'll just leave?”

How dare he? “You're such an ass,” she hissed. How _dare_ he?

“I -”

“No!” She had enough! “I don't want to leave!” How could he even think that? “I'm getting kicked out and I fought to avoid it but there's nothing I can do. I'm gonna lose my friends and my home and _you_ and there's just nothing …” She gasped and shook her head. “How can you not know how hard this is for me?”

“I'm an ass.”

She pressed her lips together.

He sighed. “I'm sorry.”

“I'm sorry for not telling you sooner,” she mumbled and looked down. “I still had hope I could advert this.”

“But you can't.”

She shook her head again. She wanted to be close to him. She wanted to touch him.

“I just don't want you to leave,” he said quietly and shrugged. “What do we do?”

“I really don't want to leave,” she said. “Do you believe me?” She needed him to know that.

He pressed his lips together and nodded.

“I could still marry Thomas,” she mumbled.

“What?”

She swallowed. “After he told me all my legal options were exhausted, he proposed.”

Phil squinted. “Are you sure he isn't behind this?”

“It's not his department and he's a good man.”

“He isn't good enough for you,” he said and her heart skipped a beat. She shouldn't hope, but she did. Then he looked at her with widened eyes. “Or do you still love him? Do you want to marry -”

“No.”

“Because I still think he's a jerk.”

She raised a brow. “Finding Captain America boring doesn't prove nobody a bad guy.”

“But it's a warning sign one shouldn't ignore.”

Damn. “I'm gonna miss you so much,” she said.

He tilted his head and they looked at each other. She loved this man so much!

He frowned. “Maybe you could marry me.”

“Excuse me?” She must be hallucinating …

He took a step towards her and graced her arm with his right hand. “I'm your friend,” he said with conviction, “and I need you here. I just … marry me.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Phil kind of sort of proposes.

She wanted to say yes. _Yes_ and _please_ and _I love you_. Which was a problem, of course. Because these words had nothing to do with what he was offering her.

“Just think about it!” he added quickly. “We know each other well and we lived together before and -”

“Being married is not just like living together.”

“I know that.”

“It'll be three years at least and there'd be scrutiny because Thomas won't just believe we decided to marry.” She clenched her hands. She wanted to touch him. She wanted to kiss him. She just wanted to say yes. But he hadn't thought this through. “You could go to jail and I could still get deported.”

“I told you he's a jerk.”

This was ridiculous! “You're the one proposing fraud.”

“We wouldn't have to lie _that_ much. We would have to exaggerate our relationship a little, but we're partners. We're friends. And you're …” He sighed and tilted his head.

“I'm what?” Her heart was racing.

“Family to me. The only one I've got left. The only one I fully trust.”

Of course that was it. Family. She remembered how tight he had held her the day his mother had passed. They hadn't really seen each other, not since she had pulled back from active duty. But he had called and she had driven from Vancouver to Bellingham, where he had lived back then, in less then forty minutes by breaking every speed limit. And now, three years later, they were here, his mother was still dead and two months ago, the love of his life had left him.

“I'm not going into this with wrong expectations,” he said and shrugged. “I just want you to stay. We can handle three years of marriage. Please stay.”

She loved him so much! “Okay.”

He smiled. “Okay?”

Okay. She nodded. Yes. She wanted this for the wrong reasons and this was probably a horrible idea. But it was also too good to give up.

He grinned at her. “Just let me change real quick.”

“What?”

He walked towards the door. “I know it's basically just pretend but I don't want to marry in sweatpants.”

Her eyes widened. “Phil!”

“You're right.” He squinted at her and nodded. “We can probably wait until after eating the croissants.”

“No.”

“So I should get changed now?” He sounded a little confused. “We should probably stop somewhere to get another ring and I always wondered about these Captain America themed Chapels. Do you think getting married there is really legit?”

She pressed her lips together.

He swallowed. “I'm joking about the chapel.”

“We can't just run off and marry!”

“We're in Vegas!”

She stared at him.

“That's not what you meant.” He sighed.

“I just want you to be sure,” she said. Because they were making big decisions here. And he was rushing.

“I am sure.”

How could he be? He just came up with that plan five minutes ago!

“I won't change my mind about you,” he said and swallowed. “About this.”

She lifted her chin. “Two weeks.”

He raised a brow.

“If you still want to do this in two weeks, we'll marry,” she explained. “By then our lawyers should've drawn up a prenup.”

“Prenup?”

“Since we're planning our divorce too, it's logical.”

“You're right.” He nodded and grinned. “I really want my vintage Captain America Collectibles protected.”

He needed to take this seriously!

He must've caught up on something in her gaze, because his smile vanished and he nodded again. “I'll call the lawyers tomorrow morning,” he added calmly.

She took a breath. “Thank you.”

“You look a little … terrified.”

She was! She loved him and he wanted to marry her but not because he loved her back but because she was family to him. This was a great wish gone sour. And still. She wanted this so much.

“I'm not like Thomas.” He caressed her upper arm and tilted his head. “I won't expect anything from you other than to stay in the same country as me.”

“I know.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. She loved the tenderness in his voice. She loved how he tried so hard to make her feel comfortable. But this wasn't what she wanted at all.

He smiled again. “So will you marry me if we wait two weeks and get a prenup?”

“Yes.” Because this was all she could have from him. She was greedy and this was wrong, but still, she couldn't decline.

“Can we eat croissants now?” he asked with a little smirk.

She wanted to kiss him for that! “Tea isn't ready yet,” she told him instead.

His eyes widened, before he walked to the kettle and switched it back on. The water quickly came to a boil again, and Phil poured it over the prepared tea leafs. “What will we tell people?” he asked with his back to her. “Because I was just thinking that maybe we should omit the fraud part of our arrangement.”

“Agreed.”

“Really?” He glanced at her over his shoulder as he started the clock for the tea. In three minutes thirty, it would be ready.

She looked down. “It's enough I pull you into this.”

“You didn't pull me into anything. This is my idea.” He came over and pulled back a chair for her.

Damn him. She sat down. She would love to be married to him. “But you're doing this for me.” Avoiding his gaze, she reached for the bag of croissants on the table and opened it. She placed one on each plate, fully aware that he was still standing next to her. Maybe they should just forget about the plan. They could figure out something else …

“I think you should wear my mother's wedding ring,” he said.

She looked up to him. “Excuse me?”

“To make our engagement more realistic. I want you to have it.” His brows were pulled together. He was absolutely serious.

This was too much! “Phil, I …”

“My mother wanted you to have that ring and now I can give it to you without having you think I'm proposing.” He crossed his arms in front of him and grinned. “You know what I mean.”

She could just stare at him. Family always held so much meaning to him. It was a shame that he didn't have anybody left but her. He deserved so much more.

“She really liked you,” he said.

Melinda swallowed. “I liked her too.”

“So you'll accept the ring?”

She nodded. Her heart was so heavy. She wanted this to be real so badly.

The timer for the tea went off and he turned away again. She folded her hands underneath the table and kneaded her fingers. She heard how he pulled the strainer out of the pot and put it aside, before he carried the tea over to the table.

“I think we should tell the others we dated ever since Audrey and I broke up and you came to me in my office,” he said and poured her a cup of tea. “Instead of sending you away I told you Audrey and broke up because I realized that I'd always love you more.” He poured himself a cup too. His hands didn't shake and hers clenched into fists again.

How could he talk about this so calmly?

“You were surprised at first,” he added, “but confessed you loved me too. At first, we kept it secret to be more respectful of Audrey's feelings and because you're always so convinced that any romantic relationship will fail.”

“Excuse me?”

Grinning, he sat down the pot and settled on the chair at the corner. “But I, being the romantic that I am had full faith in it and eventually I could convince you of the same, which is why you accepted my proposal. Because of your troubles with your green card, we're hurrying up the wedding from summer next year to Saturday in two weeks.”

“That's very detailed.”

“I'm good with undercover stuff.”

“You are.” He was very good.

“Is that backstory acceptable for you?”

“It sounds logical.” It sounded wonderful.

“So instead of you keeping things from me for two months, we'd be dating and planning our future.”

She swallowed hard. There they went again … “This is a bad idea.” She wanted to stand up, but he touched her shoulder.

“I'm sorry, I … “ He sighed and shook his head. “I just wish you would've told me earlier.”

“You're right.” She sighed. “And I'm sorry.”

“Why didn't you?”

She looked at her croissant. “Telling you makes things real.”

“Next time when you think you have to leave, just tell me.” he said quietly and picked up his croissant. “I can handle it.”

“Okay.”

He nodded and bit into the croissant. A smile blossomed on his face and his eyes closed for a moment. “Croissants are good,” he said then.

She wanted to kiss him. This was so bad. “When will we tell the others?” she asked and pulled her shoulders up.

He frowned. “We could keep it quiet and elope after Victoria's and Anna's wedding.”

Yes!

He smiled at her. “You like that idea.”

“I just don't want to take attention away from them for something that's not real.”

“Same.” He took another bite of the croissant. “So we'll tell everybody after we eloped.”

She reached for the butter. “Where will we live?”

“Since we both own our apartments, we could keep them as investments and lease them out. We could buy a new apartment or maybe a house.”

She nodded. Like this they would have places to go back to after their three years of marriage. She hated thinking about divorcing him.

“Until we find something, we could switch between apartments,” he continued. “We both have guest rooms so it shouldn't be a problem.”

“I think we should buy a house.”

“Really?”

“Once we'll get divorced, you'll keep it.”

He frowned at her. “Melinda …”

She concentrated on smearing butter on her croissant. “Please, let me give you something back.”

“Look at me, please.”he said.

With her lips pressed together, she did.

He sighed. “You're the only family I have left and I …” He shook his head and shrugged. “I want you in my life. I don't need you to give anything else.”

She needed him in her life too. She loved him so damn much. This could only end in tragedy.

“Okay?” he asked.

“Okay.” What choice did she have?

  
  


o0o

  
  


She left his place after they had finished the croissants. They had talked a little about books and about a movie they both would like to see and nobody had said anything else about their wedding. Of course ever since she couldn't think about anything else. She hadn't really slept much last night. She had dreamed about Phil proposing the way he had told her. She had dreamed about them in his office, with him kneeling in front of her, confessing his love and offering her his mother's ring. At four in the morning, she gave up and prepared for the day.

She arrived at the office at six and fortunately, she had enough paperwork left to bury herself in until evening. But it didn't come to that.

Phil walked into her office at quarter to twelve. “They want to meet you,” he said and walked up to her desk.

She looked up from her computer and raised a brow. Usually she could read him well, but now even she couldn't follow his line of thought.

He took a breath. “ Fitzsimmons just had a meeting with me and they hired us and they want to meet you. They have this rule to just work with people they like and trust, so …” He shrugged.

She straightened up. What was that supposed to mean.

“Please don't glare at them,” he said pleadingly. “They ramble and they're basically helpless toddlers, but they're genius and if we don't get to help them, the world might be in danger because they invent serious stuff and they need our protection.”

She hated meeting with clients for this very reason. This was exactly why he was the front man for their company!

“That's good,” he said and grinned. “Get all the glaring out of your system right now.”

She squinted. “You're not as funny as you think.”

His grin just widened.

And damn her, she grinned back. Still, she would make him pay for that later.

Someone knocked on the door and they both turned to look.

Melinda's eyes widened. “Thomas!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took FOREVER to write! I’m so sorry for the wait, you guys. Life just got a little crazy and I got overwhelmed and a little lost. Thank you so much for your support and your sweet words! They mean so much to me! Thank you! This is for you. I hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter 3**   
_in which they lie._

  
  


Thomas Wen looked slick and elegant, wearing a blue two piece suit with a white shirt and matching tie. He had always been a sharp dresser. And he always had had a winning smile. “Hello, Melinda. I'm sorry to intrude, but I needed to talk to you,” he said, polite as ever. “Your assistant was kind enough to let me through.”

Skye showed up behind him, with her hands on her hips. “I'm not an assistant!”

Melinda looked at her. “Thank you, Skye.” The room got way too crowded for her taste.

“I'm a computer specialist,” Skye said.

“She's brilliant,” said Phil.

Skye beamed at him. “Thank you, Coulson.”

Phil smiled back at the young woman and Melinda's stomach cramped. She loved the relationship between the two of them. Ever since Phil had saved Skye from prison by hiring her for her impressive skill set, Phil had become her mentor. A role that suited him well. And Skye really cared for him too. Melinda wasn't the only family left he had. And they would have to lie to her.

“Can we speak in private?” Thomas interrupted her thoughts.

She hated this! She looked at Skye again and raised a brow.

“I'm not an assistant!” Skye said to Thomas before she left.

Phil started moving too, but instead of walking out, he walked around her desk until he stopped next to her.

“I think we should tell him together,” he said and graced her lower back with his hand. “I'm sure he's gonna have questions for the both of us.”

Thomas squinted. “Tell me what?”

“Great news, actually.” Beaming at him, Phil grabbed her hand. “I asked her to marry me and she said yes!” He sounded so damn happy.

Thomas stared at them.

Melinda swallowed and squeezed Phil's hand. Time to sell it. “We're engaged.” She smiled brightly. It hurt.

Thomas's gaze jumped from her to Phil and back. “You two … ?”

“It's still fresh,” she said.

“Not that fresh.” Phil looked at her with adoration and squeezed her hand. “Not for me.”

He was killing her! “Phil.” She loved his smile. She loved how he touched her. She loved how he looked at her right now. Like he loved her too.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Thomas frowned and sighed. “I wouldn't have -”

… proposed to her? She swallowed. Of course he was embarrassed now. “I'm sorry,” she said. “I didn't want things to get to this.” The words were out before she could bite her lip. Would Thomas suspect they were just putting on a show?

Phil snorted and caressed the back of her hand with his thumb. “What she means is she wanted a summer wedding,” he said lightly, “and because of the trouble with her green card, we have to hurry things up a little.”

A lump formed in her throat. He was a fantastic actor.

“You can have that,” Phil added and squeezed her hand again. “I'll marry you twice. No problem.”

She wanted to believe every lie he told.

“When's the date?” Thomas asked quietly. He looked pale. He still thought he loved her, she realized. He really had hoped she would marry him again. But instead of marrying a man who loved her, she'd marry the man she loved.

She blinked. “Not sure yet. We're still fuzzy on the details.”

“But two weeks should be long enough to plan a wedding,” Phil said.

“You seem very happy.” Thomas nodded slowly. His hole body was tense. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Melinda gave him a warm smile. She wasn't sure if he had caught on to their scheme or if he was upset she would marry someone else.

“I'm afraid the immigration office will have some questions for the two of you.”

“Not a problem,” Phil said. Like all of this would be easy. She held on to his hand until Thomas left.

After she let go, they had enough time to exchange a look before Skye stormed into her office. “You two got engaged and didn't tell me?” she asked.

Oh crap. Melinda glared at her. “Did you hack the intercom?”

“Eavesdropped outside the door. You two are _dating_?”

Again, Phil reached for Melinda's hand. She could get used to this way too easily. “Since November,” he said.

“Since you and Audrey broke up?” Skye's eyes widened, then she grinned. “Switching from one classy lady to another, Coulson. You've got game!”

Phil glared at her. “Why are you so very informed about my love life?”

“Not that informed.” Skye squinted, then she grinned. “You're engaged! Congratulations!” Just like that, Skye came around the desk and hugged Melinda shortly and Phil longer.

“I'm so happy for you!”

“Thank you, Skye,” he said.

Smiling, Skye shook her head as she stepped back. “Now it finally makes sense why you were so distant to May!”

Blushing, he looked at Melinda. “I wasn't -” Of course not. He had been nursing his broken heart. And she understood.

“You were totally overcompensating so you wouldn't blow your cover.” Skye gleefully swatted his arm.

“Maybe a little.” He pulled up his shoulders. He was adorable.

“Just tell me you won't start making out in the office now,” Skye said, “because I'm not sure I could handle that.”

Melinda grinned slyly and took Phil's hand. “Then for your own sake, stop eavesdropping and learn to knock.”

  
  


o0o

  
  


He couldn't wait to marry the woman sitting across from him. Too bad it was all a trick. Phil swallowed a piece of chicken before he reached across the table for the box with the spring rolls. It just had one left.

“Is it okay if I take it?” he asked.

Melinda nodded and kept eating noodles. The two of them sat in her kitchen, feasting on chinese take out. Skye had tried to convince them to take a day off to celebrate their engagement but their work load was just too heavy. But when five o'clock came, Skye had forced them out of the office to at least enjoy their evening. He had assumed that Melinda would want to split, but instead she had invited him to dinner. He couldn't get a read on her. Usually he was quite good at it, but ever since he asked her to marry him, her actions were mostly unpredictable to him. He still couldn't believe that she had said yes to him. He felt like being blessed and cursed at the same time. He wished he could love her differently.

He took the spring roll and bit into it. It tasted good. This, sitting with her, just eating, felt good. He could get used to that. He could get used to this so easily.

After the funeral of his mother, when the two of them had sat in his mother's apartment, and he had felt as alone as he had ever felt between the boxes of his mother's belongings, he had felt as alone as he had ever felt. She had said he meant a lot to her.

He knew she cared. He just wished that – No. He wouldn't go there. No wishful thinking, or it would drive him insane. This was for her and he got to keep her close. He would be satisfied with that. He would let her go. He would not make her regret accepting his help.

He swallowed. “You think Wen believed us?” he asked.

She shrugged. “You were very convincing. For once you didn't go over the top.”

“I never -”

“Shatner could learn a trick or two from you.” She grinned at him and he wanted to kiss her. But of course he wouldn't.

Instead he frowned. “Don't you speak ill of Captain Kirk!”

“I thought your heart beats for Captain America?”

True. But still. “Just be respectful to all the Captains, please.”

She smiled at him and he loved her. He loved her all the time. But god, right now, he loved her so much.

Maybe there was something in his gaze that gave it away, because she looked away and sobered up. “We can still stop this,” she said quietly.

It pulled on his heartstrings. He wanted to marry her so badly, it was unhealthy. It was stupid. Such a fool in love … He reached for another food box and put some fried vegetables on his plate, just so he could avoid looking at her. “I'm pretty sure Skye tweeted the news already,” he said. “So much for eloping.” Humor was the only armor he allowed himself. Skye's words still rang in his ears. He _had_ been distant to hide his love, just not from Skye. He had seen that little flash of pain in Melinda's eyes too. He hated hurting her. He didn't want to keep pushing her away.

She pressed her lips together. “That's a bad reason to stick to the plan.”

“I'm not backing out.”

“But you know you can, right? I would understand. I'm asking for a lot and -”

“I'm _not_ backing out.” He moved the food around on his plate. He loved that plan. He loved the idea of living with her. Even a future with an expiration date was bright as long as it was with her by his side.

“You sound so sure.”

“I'm not gonna live a country away from you again.” Even thinking about it made his stomach cramp.

She sighed. “I'm not your only family, you know that, right? You have Skye and Trip and -”

“They don't know me like you do. I don't trust them like I trust you.” He didn't love them like he loved her. And he didn't need them as badly.

She stared at him and his palms started sweating. Ever since he started this, he was at constant risk of blowing his cover. He knew that she wouldn't marry him if she'd know how he felt, if she knew how much truth he had sold her as a lie.

Time to redirect her focus. “Talking about family,” he said, “you think we should tell your mother?”

Her eyes widened and she paled.

“Your mother's not that scary.”

“She can't know.”

“Melinda -”

“She can't know it's not real,” she said.

“Then you'll just have to convince her you're in love with me.” When they had been with Thomas and Skye, it had been so easy to believe what she had sold to them. For a while he had allowed himself to buy into it. Holding her hand had been wonderful. Pretending this could be real had been bliss.

She looked at him with pleading eyes. “And you'll tell her you -”

“Am the doting husband to be?” He grinned. “That's the easy part.”

“I'm a better actor than you.”

“You were always surprisingly good at undercover OPs.”

“Surprisingly?”

“For someone who hates them, I mean.”

“I just hate insincerity,” she said.

Crap. “Do you want to marry me?” he asked and leaned forward. “I know this goes against your grain and I just …” He had been pushing this on her, he realized. He swallowed. He just wanted to be close to her. “If you'd rather move to Canada than marry me, we can work something out.” He would move. He would come up with a logical explanation why he needed to go with her and then he would just do that. Move to Canada too. He took a breath. “So … Do you want this?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they tell Mama May.

His heart raced as he waited for her answer. He just knew she would say no. She hated the insincerity and she had been so uncomfortable ever since he started this. As great as she was at keeping up her cover, he knew her better. She didn't want this.

She looked down. “I want this,” she said quietly.

Oh, thank God! He took a breath and relaxed his hands. He hasn't even noticed he had clenched them, but his nails dug painfully into his palms. “We're in this together, then.”

She looked up and he loved the hint of a smile on her face. He would be her partner in any way she'd let him. Looked like he just got the extension he had hoped for. She wanted this! He smiled too.

“Time to call your mom,” he said.

“Do we have to?”

“Do you want her to find out from somebody else?”

She sighed and reached for the phone. He loved how she nibbled on her lower lip as she dialed. Her mother always put her on alert. He never really understood the tension. Sure, agent Lin May was a little reserved, but she clearly loved her daughter. It was why he had a sweet spot for her.

They both waited a few seconds for her call to go through.

Eventually, “Hi Mom.” Melinda straightened up as she talked. “No, I'm fine. Good news actually. Phil and I got engaged. … Are you still there? … Phil Coulson. On Sunday. Yes. I don't think -” She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together, before she nodded. “Yes, mom. Yes. …” Melinda offered him the phone. “She wants to talk to you.”

His palms started sweating. Usually agent May was friendly towards him, he was quite sure she might even like him, but last time he had seen her, he had been with Audrey. He took the phone and forced himself to smile. “Mrs May? It's Phil, hi.”

“Do you love my daughter?”

Easy enough question. His smile relaxed. “Very much,” he said.

“And you want to marry her.”

“Looking forward to it.” Melinda stared at him, her lips pressed together once more. He wished this would be real. He wanted to be with her for the rest of his life.

“This is about her green card, isn't it?” agent May asked. He imagined her squinting as she did so.

“The rush is due to green card,” he replied. “On the other hand I can't wait to be married to your daughter.”

Now Melinda squinted at him too. She probably thought he was being melodramatic. He didn't want to know what she'd do if she knew he was telling the truth.

“You waited fifteen years,” agent May said.

“True.”

“Why?”

“Because I love her.”

“No, why did you wait for so long?”

“Because I love her. I would've waited longer.” Another truth. Melinda touched his arm and shot him a glare. She wanted him to keep it down. Crap.

Agent May sighed. “When's the wedding?”

“We're aiming for Saturday in two weeks.”

“I have to shift a meeting, but that's acceptable.”

Acceptable? He swallowed hard. “Will you come?”

“My daughter will marry, of course I will come!”

“That's wonderful.” That was terrifying! “Is there anything we could arrange for you? Book a flight or a hotel room?”

Melinda dug her nails into his arm and shook her head violently.

“No,” agent May said, “I will contact you once I arrive in Las Vegas.”

“That would be –“ There was a click. “ … and she hang up.”

Melinda glared at him. “Did you just invite my mother to our wedding?”

Oh, boy. He swallowed hard. “Technically no, but still, she'll come.”

Her eyes widened and her grip on his arm got even stronger. He would definitely have bruises.

“It'll be fine,” he said, trying to be reassuring.

“My mother's coming to my fake wedding!”

Yeah, he didn't feel that reassured either.

“You'll be fine too, I promise.”

Fake it till you make it was their motto anyway.

  
  


o0o

  
  


“I call bullshit.”

“Hello to you too, Maria.” Melinda glanced at her while she continued with her Tai Chi routine. Usually she worked out in the mornings, but with everything going on, she needed a second round. Which Maria Hill just had rudely interrupted by storming her office. So much for peacefully walking through some feelings.

“You're not engaged to Phil Coulson because clearly, if you were I wouldn't have to find out from Skye!” Maria build herself up so close in front of her, that Melinda had no space left to continue her movements. She wore one of her black suits. Melinda was sure she just came over from court to make a scene.

Sighing, Melinda dropped her routine and stood straight. “We've been dating since November. He asked me on Sunday.” Today was Tuesday, lunchtime. Ever since Skye had found out, Melinda had wondered how long they could keep this a secret. She had hoped for more than a day.

Maria straightened up and crossed her arms. “I don't believe you.”

“I didn't tell him about my green card situation because I didn't want to corner him.”

“And when you did, he proposed.”

“But not because of it,” Phil cut in. He walked into her office and stopped next to Melinda, taking her hand in his.“I already had the ring, I was just waiting for the right time to ask.” He smiled down to her. Her heart fluttered. His adoration seemed so real! If it would be, she would the happiest woman on earth. She wouldn't even be bothered by people constantly storming into her office.

Maria wasn't impressed at all. “Three months ago you were in love with Audrey.”

“I broke up with Audrey because I'm in love with Melinda. I've always been in love with Melinda. That's why I asked her to marry me.” He squeezed her hand and brushed his shoulder against hers. She loved all the physical contact they had lately. If this were real, she'd touch him a lot, too. And she'd kiss him. She wished she could kiss him.

Maria glared at him. “You better make her happy!”

He smiled brightly at Melinda. “That's my plan.”

Oh yes, she wanted to kiss that man. She smiled back and squeezed his hand. She loved him so much!

“Congratulations, Coulson,” Maria said and patted Phil's shoulder. Then she grinned at Melinda. “Good thing you didn't accept Wen's offer.”

Phil tilted his head. “Wen's offer?”

“He proposed to marry May so she could stay in the country.” Maria grinned. “Melinda didn't tell you about the competition?”

“The immigration agent suggested immigration fraud?”

“He's still in love with her.”

“Maria!” Melinda glared at her.

But she just shrugged and grinned. “It's true!”

“I can relate.” Phil sighed. “Did Wen really propose to you?”

“But I told him no.”

“And said yes to me.” He smiled at her again and she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to tell him she loved him.

Maria snorted. “You two are so cute, I could barf. And you could've told me earlier!”

“Is there anything else you want?”

“Ask you if I should pick you up for the dress fitting tomorrow.”

“I will drive her,” Phil said and squeezed Melinda's hand.

Melinda looked at him. “You will?”

He grinned and squeezed her hand. “We could have lunch before.”

“What kind of lunch?” Maria squinted at them.

“You're not invited,” Phil said without breaking eye contact with Melinda.

“Rude!”

Melinda smiled. “Lunch would be nice.”

“Lunch doesn't mean food, does it?” Maria asked.

They just smiled at each other.

“Don't tell me.” Maria sighed. “I see you tomorrow.”

Once, Maria was gone, Phil sobered up. “Pretty sure Tori and Anna will interrogate us tomorrow.” He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand. “Are you up for it?”

“I should be the one asking you.” And she should also let go of him, but he was caressing her and it felt so nice.

He frowned. “Because this is all your problem?”

“It's my green card -”

“Stop.” He shook his head. “I meant what I said. I'm in this with you.” He squeezed her hand. “I don't want to lose you.”

As if he could ever lose her! “I would just move.”

“And everything would change.”

“Everything always changes. Everything changes now.”

“Not that much.”

They were holding hands and he was so good at pretending to love her that for some blissful moments she forgot he was just acting. She pulled her hand away.

He let go quickly and hid his hands behind his back. “I went too far with all the hand-holding, didn't I?”

She saw the guilt on his face. She loved how respectful he was of her boundaries she just wished he'd realize they were much broader set. “I think it was fine.”

“I promise I'll never take it further.” He looked too damn serious.

She grinned at him. “So no kissing then?”

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Melinda goes to a dress fitting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little longer than the ones before and took forever to get right (flu wasn’t any help!). Those two dorks in love just kill me! Thank you all so much for your support for this story so far and please keep your comments coming! They keep me sane. :) I hope you enjoy this!

His eyes widened. “Would you be open to that?”

Oh yes. Most definitely. Any time. If it were up to her, they’d start making out right now! She pressed her lips together. She hated how much she wanted to take advantage of his generosity.

He swallowed and shook his head. “No, of course not. I would never - I mean improv gives some … but I would never –“ He lifted his hands. “And you’re not a person who’s affectionate in public so I think  …” Squinting, he dropped his hands to his sides. “You’re mocking me.”

Humor was her only defense here. She raised a brow. “Improv?”

“It’s what we actors call it.”

“ _Suddenly_ you’re an actor?”

“A great one, who’s serious about the craft, very committed to the character in the role of his lifetime.”

Her eyes widened.

“I didn’t mean lifetime,” he added quickly. “I know it’s temporary.”

She should say something funny. Like he’d deserve an Oskar for his efforts or something. But she couldn’t. They would get divorced eventually and she already dreaded the thought of that. She hated that it was all an act. So she just nodded.

“I talked to our lawyers,” he said. “They’re drawing up a prenuptial. They promised to have a complete first draft by tomorrow.”

“That’s good.”

He smiled. “I already gave them the special terms we agreed on, but we should look over it together before we sign it.” He tilted his head. “We could do it tomorrow evening, at my place? I could make us dinner.”

She smiled back. “Chicken risotto?”

“Of course.”

“Deal.”

  
  


o0o

  
  


This day had started weird and when Melinda saw Victoria, Anna and Maria standing outside the bridal shop, she concluded it would stay the same. Two hours ago, Phil and she had been drinking early lunch champagne with Trip and Skye in an impromptu engagement celebration, including a gift card for dance lessons for couples and – well, the already mentioned early lunch champagne.

And now this. Maria grinned, Anna had her arms crossed in front of her and Tori’s face was blank. Phil squeezed her hand as they walked towards their friends. She loved getting to touch him so often. She loved how at ease it felt, how natural. Which was exactly why this was so very dangerous! - But she would pick up the pieces once this would be over. For now she didn’t want to let go.

“We both are here with our fiancés!” Victoria raised her hands. “What a surprise!”

Melinda sighed. “I would’ve told you.”

“When?”

“After your wedding,” said Phil and rubbed Melinda’s arm.

Anna placed her hands on her hips. “You would’ve kept this from us for eight more days?”

“We didn’t want to steal your moment,” Phil said and pulled up his shoulders.

“Don’t give me that crap!”

“Maria -” Melinda tried.

But Tori cut in, “No, she’s right. We were worried about losing you. We would’ve worried for eight more days!”

“We’re sorry,” Phil said and squeezed Melinda’s hand again.

Tori glared at them. “Don’t do it again.”

“We won’t, promise.” Phil said.

“Good,” Tori replied sternly, before she hugged her two friends, which meant Phil had to let go of Melinda’s hand. “It’s so cute how he talks for the both of you,” Tori whispered loudly when she hugged Melinda.

Anna hugged Melinda. “Adorable, really!”

“I’m right here!” Phil quipped.

Giggling, Anna hugged him, too. “Congratulations! We’re so happy for you.”

“Thank you.” Melinda smiled and her cheeks hurt.

“I always said you two should hook up, didn’t I?” Maria said and lifted her chin with glee. “I totally told you so.”

Phil exchanged a look with Melinda and smiled. “I’m gonna leave,” he said and caressed her arm. “I see you at home.”

She hated this. She hated the lies and how damn good his touch felt. If this were real, she wouldn’t let him leave without a kiss. Since it wasn’t, she just smiled at him. “See you at home.”

The four women watched Phil walk off, before Anna lightly punched Melinda’s arm. “See you at home. How adorable! I can’t believe you kept this from us!”

Melinda looked at the ground and shrugged.

“You didn’t want to tell in case it wouldn’t last,” Maria said with a sigh.

A lump formed in Melinda’s throat and she just looked at her friend. Damn Maria for knowing her so well. Of course now she was damn wrong. Because the expiration date of their relation ship was already set. Three years. She hated this so much!

Tori frowned. “That’s stupid.”

“Excuse me?” Melinda looked at her.

Anna grinned and wrapped her arm around Tori’s waist. “It’s obvious he loves you.”

“Maybe now,” Melinda said. He was a fantastic actor. She wished he would go a little more over the top from time to time, say something ridiculously cheesy, just so it’d be easier to remember that it was all a fake.

“You really didn’t know?” Anna asked.

Melinda shrugged. “He told me he loved me right after he broke up with Audrey. Since then, I know.” She hated lying. She hated it!

“Took him long enough,” said Maria. “I know him being with her was hard for you.”

Melinda’s eyes widened. “You …?”

“Equally as obvious, Melinda.” Anna grinned. “Are you happy?”

She imagined how she’d feel if their story would be true. And a smile blossomed on her face. “Very.”

“How’s the sex?”

“Tori!” Maria yelped, then she shot Melinda a daring look. “No, actually, I wanna now too. It’s good, isn’t it?”

Nonexistent. But Melinda knew how to please an audience. She grinned slyly.

“How was lunch, by the way?” asked Maria, grinning too.

“Very satisfying.”

“That’s all we get, isn’t it?” Anna asked with a sigh.

Yes.

“But I want more details!” Anna said. “Who kissed whom first? How did he propose? I need to know!”

Melinda turned to the entrance of the bridal shop and opened the door. “Maybe after your wedding,” she said. Until then she would’ve cleared up the details with Phil.

“Unfair.” Anna pouted.

“Don’t you worry, my betrothed,” said Tori and guided Anna into the Bridal shop. “We’ll grill the groom to be.”

“Not your betrothed yet!” corrected Maria and followed, them grinning.

“But soon!” Tori sounded so very pleased, it made Melinda’s heart ache.

  
  


o0o

  
  


It was almost seven when she showed up at his door after the fitting. He opened the door, wearing a t-shirt and jeans, with a kitchen towel draped over his shoulder.

“Finally!” he said smiling and turned around to walk back to the kitchen. The scents that flew towards her from there were delicious! Like apples and chicken and tomatoes. “Dinner’s almost ready,” he said.

She followed him to the kitchen. He had already set the table for two. Next to the big yellow glass bowel in which he always kept some apples and – for some reason beyond her – his keys, lay some files on top of a newspaper.

Now he stirred the pot of risotto. “How was the fitting?” he asked.

She smiled and got a bottle of cooled white wine from the fridge. “The dresses fit them beautifully and I’m allowed to wear my leather jacket over my red dress.”

“You’re in a good mood.” He grinned at her over his shoulder. “Perfect!”

Why would he say it like that. Frowning, she filled their glasses with whine. “Did my mum call again?”

“What?” He glanced at her again and turned off the stove. “No! Why?” He really seemed to be surprised by her question. And a little guilty.

Wait a second! Did she smell apples? Apples had nothing to do with her favorite risotto. Then she spotted something suspicious on the kitchen counter. She squinted at him. “Is that an apple pie?”

He blushed. “For dessert.” Focusing his gaze on the pot, he carried it over to the table.

She crossed her arms and watched him plate the food.

“You love it. It’s comfort food.”

“Why do I need comfort food?”

He grated some parmesan onto the risotto. “Can’t a man just do something nice for his fake bride to be?”

Yeah, no. She raised a brow and waited.

Phil sat down next to her. “We kind of have a double date with Fitzsimmons,” he mumbled and picked up his fork. “I also bought ice cream.”

“A double date?” Weren’t Fitzsimmons those genius kids?

“It’s just brunch.” He munched on a tomato. “It’ll be fine,” he uttered, “You just eat and they won’t even notice that you don’t talk. Much. If you could just smile -”

“What did you do?”

He pulled up his shoulders. “They called to arrange a meeting and I kind of told them that we’re engaged and  how wonderful you are and how warm and kind and forgiving. One smile during the brunch would probably suffice.”

“When?”

“Saturday after our wedding.” He swallowed. “They didn’t want to intrude on our honeymoon.”

“How sweet.”

“They really are.” He looked at her pleadingly. “Please don’t scare them off.”

He looked so guilty and worried, it was adorable. What a mess. She sighed heavily. “We have to double date Tori and Anna.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s your fault!”

“How?”

“They think we’re cute.”

He chuckled. “We are.”

“Phil!” But she had to grin too. This felt good. This felt like them. She loved him so much. Before she could do something as stupid as telling him that, she focused on eating her risotto. They both ate in silence. After they finished, they cleaned up the table. He put the dirty dishes into the dishwasher, while she poured them another glass of wine.

“We could go laser-tagging with them,” he said and grinned at her. “You can shoot me as often as you like.”

She would love that. She smiled back. “So you’re fine with it?”

“It was bound to happen.” He ginned and picked up the files on top of the newspaper and gave them to her. “Here,” he said. “The prenuptial. Ready to sign when you are.”

She swallowed and looked at the documents. She shouldn’t be so shocked by this. They were the reason he had invited her to dinner, after all, but still. This was getting very real. While Phil prepared dessert, she sat back down and quickly read over the lawyer-babble. Everything seemed right.

“Pen?” she asked.

Phil carried two plates with apple pie and vanilla ice cream to the table. “Are you sure?”

“You can still back out,” she said.

Instead he put down the plates and grabbed a pen that had been hidden beneath the newspaper. He took the document from her and signed, before he gave both the document and the pen to her.

Damn, she loved that man! - She swallowed hard and signed as well.

“Anna wants to know about our first kiss and how you proposed,” she said, focusing on the document.

His eyes widened. “I almost forgot!” And just like that, he walked out of the kitchen.

Melinda straightened up. “Phil?”

He returned, holding something blinking between two fingers of his right hand. “It should fit now,” he said and took her hand.

The blinking thing was a golden ring with one diamond surrounded by two rubies. His mother’s ring. Crap. Damn. _Crap_. She loved him so much! If he’d slip the ring onto her finger, she’d break. So she took it from him quickly and slipped it on. It looked beautiful on her finger. And it fit perfectly. Crap. She bit her lip hard.

A chair scratched over tiles, when Phil pulled it back and sat down next to her. “We were right here in this kitchen, a day after you told me about your green card issues. I cooked for you. After dessert, I knelt and took the ring out of my pocket.”

She glanced at him but he looked at the pie. The ice cream started melting.

“I told you that I love you and that I would’ve prepared something,” he said, “possibly including a musical number and lots of tulips because you deserve something special but if you’d say yes, I would make every day special for you afterwards and …” He sighed, then he lifted his head and grinned. “Obviously, you said yes. You cried a little, too.”

She snorted. “Did not.”

“Did so.” His grin widened.

She was grateful for the comical relief he offered, but damn. If he’d ever do something remotely like that for her and be sincere? She would definitely shed a happy tear or two. She loved him so much, it hurt.

“And you kissed me first,” he added.

She wanted to kiss that smug look off his face. “Excuse me?”

“Our first kiss. You kissed me first, since you’re a woman of action and all. I confessed and you kissed me.”

That sounded exactly how she would react, if he’d ever tell her that. She swallowed. “Glad we cleared that up.”

  
  


o0o

Two days later, Phil walked onto her office and lifted up two dishes with baked potatoes with sour cream and a salad. He must’ve stopped by her favorite deli on his way back from a client meeting and then arranged the food on plates from their tiny office kitchen.

“You’re back!” she said, smiling.

“And I brought lunch.” He came over to her desk, where he put down the dishes. He pulled out two forks from inner jacket pocket and sat down across from her. Just like that. As if it would be completely normal for him to just walk into her office to have lunch with her. He did that before, with the same ease. But now they were engaged. Brushing her fingers together, she felt the ring. It still felt strange, wearing it. And way too good too. She would hate taking it off. It broke her heart just thinking about it.

She paused the video-file she had been going through on her computer and leaned forward to take the fork he offered her.

Trip and Skye were with another client to update their systems, so they had the office to themselves.

“I was thinking honeymoon,” he said.

She almost chocked on lettuce. “Excuse me?”

“I thought to keep up appearances, we should go on a honeymoon.”

“Okay.”

He tilted his head and smiled at her. “I thought we could rent a small plane, fly around the block, book a room in the Bellagio, then gamble for two days and have breakfast foods all day. My treat.”

He was killing her!

“Do you like it?” he asked.

She loved it. The perfect honeymoon with the perfect man. Crap. Crap! “Sounds good,” she said. Then the doorbell rang and she was glad for the distraction. The security cameras on her computer showed her a familiar face.

“It’s Thomas,” she said.

Phil sighed and nodded. “Lunch can wait a little.”

They put the plates aside and let Thomas in.

“I’m here on official business,” Thomas said after a stiff greeting. “It’s an invitation to a hearing about your immigration status.”

“You could’ve mailed it,” said Phil. Together they walked towards their conference room.

Thomas ignored him and looked at Melinda. “Do you still plan on marring him?”

“Yes.” She smiled at Phil while he opened the door to the conference room.

Thomas gritted his teeth. “So you’re willing to commit fraud with him.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they reconsider things.

“Excuse me?” Phil squinted at Thomas.

“I made inquiries about you. And I found Audrey Nathan.”

Phil snorted. “You could've just asked, I would've given you her address.”

They entered the meeting room, but neither of them sat down. Phil and Melinda stood next to each other with Thomas across from him, his back to the door.

“You dated her for two years?” asked Thomas.

“Two and a half actually.”

“Then she broke it off,” Thomas said.

“Did she say that?” asked Phil.

Thomas crossed his arms. “She said the breakup was mutual.”

“There you go.”

“How much time passed before you and Melinda started seeing each other?” Thomas asked

Enough! Melinda glared at him. “Is this an interrogation, Thomas?”

He lifted his chin. “I can't protect you, if you don't trust me.”

Phil placed his hand on Melinda's lower back. “I told Melinda I love her an hour after Audrey left. I was upset, she came to check on me and she looked at me and I …” He sighed. “I just told her I loved her. I've loved her for years and that I broke off with Audrey because I just wanted to be with her and …” He shook his head slightly. “I was sure she would walk out, but she kissed me and I …” He chuckled and looked lovingly inter her eyes. “And now we're here.”

Thomas swallowed hard. Melinda could see the tension in his shoulders. “You and Audrey ended things in November, is that correct?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“When Melinda had already been informed about her challenged immigration status,” Thomas said, sounding pleased with himself.

Melinda nodded slowly. “You think I'm using him.”

“That thought crossed my mind.”

This was crazy. She should just admit it, just give him some truth. She took a breath. “Twenty second March of 92. We had been casing out a drug ring that operated on the border. That day we busted one of their warehouses while a new shipment arrived. A bullet scraped his left upper arm. I've known since then.”

Both, Phil and Thomas looked at her.

“Known what?” Phil asked.

“That I love you.” That was true. She smiled and nudged his side. “Don't let that get to your head.”

Phil smiled at her and his hand caressed her back and she felt warm. She loved him so much! He looked so happy, it broke her heart.

“That was three days before you broke off with me,” Thomas said quietly.

Also true. An explanation as well. She swallowed.

“You said there was no one else.” Thomas sounded so hurt.

“There wasn't.” She shook her head. “He didn't look at me twice back then.”

Phil cleared his throat. “Just because you didn't catch me, doesn't mean I didn't stare.”

“So this is for real?” asked Thomas.

“I'm sorry -” she tried.

But Thomas interrupted her. “No, please don't.” He dropped his arms to his sides. “Jeanette Booth will be the agent to assist you. She's good. She will do her best to help you but you should hire an attorney who specializes in immigration law. I could give you a name.”

“That would be nice,” Phil said.

o0o

After Thomas left, they returned to her office to resume lunch. Phil made it though the whole meal, before he couldn't hold it any longer. The only thing left on his plate was one decorative rose shaped carrot, which he better shouldn't eat, because he was highly allergic to them. During their first cases together she had mocked him several times about the fact that bunny food could kill him.

“So you allegedly love me since 1992?” he asked and put down his fork.

She forked up that carrot from his plate. Saving his life once again. “I told you not to let it get to your head.”

“That's thirteen years!”

“I marvel at your math skills.”

He shrugged. “I just think it's funny that you mock my style and then spill cheesy lines like that.”

She raised a brow and smiled. “Glad, you approve.”

“Will Shatner is a true idol to me,” he said, grinning, “and today you honored him.” Sure, his silly heart almost stopped hearing her say it, and even thinking about how she had looked at him them made it skip another beat, but her performance had been truly cheesy in the best way. He loved her for that even more. He was so very dumb.

She didn't smile anymore. “Things are getting real, Phil. We'll probably be deposed and there's so much paperwork and -”

“Paperwork doesn't scare me and they can call us to as many interviews as they'd like, I won't budge.”

“Phil …”

“I will do whatever it takes, just saying.”

She put her fork down and pressed her lips together.

He sighed. “You still think I'm gonna back out.”

“I think you're stubborn.”

He grinned.

“What now?” she asked.

He reached over and plated the dirty dishes on top of each other. “Can't argue with that.”

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards.

“I'm not gonna back out, Melinda. I just won't.”

“Okay.”

He wanted to stand up to bring the dishes back to the kitchen, but she placed her hand on his and got up herself.

“Let me do this,” she said. “If you cook, I'll do the dishes.”

Worked for him. He hated dealing with dirty dishes. He leaned back in his chair and smiled up to her. “Is it too late to add that to our prenup?”

Rolling her eyes, she took the plates and carried them out.

He should probably get back to his paperwork, but he wanted to spent a little more time with Melinda. So he stood up and enjoyed the great view out of the office window upon the city until she returned.

“I think we should kiss,” she said.

He turned around. “Excuse me?” He was hallucinating! That was what he got for being greedy.

“I think we should kiss,” she repeated and walked up to him. “Not that often, but on some occasions it might feel unnatural if we wouldn't.”

He took a breath and did his very best not to stare at her mouth. “Could you be more specific?”

“I think our lips should touch on occasions.”

Oh my God. “Could you demonstrate?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.” Very serious. He wanted to kiss her so badly!

When she touched his shoulder, he flinched and she pulled away. Crap.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

No. But he wanted it so badly. She had the most wonderful lips. All he wanted was to grab her and kiss her and never let her go. He was so doomed for loving her that much. “Just kiss me, please,” he mumbled. Please, please, please!

She squinted at him and he gave a slight nod, before he focused on her lips. Those wonderful lips. They came closer and closer and – His eyes fell shut and her mouth gently pressed against his. Then she pulled away.

When he opened his eyes, he found her looking at him. She was still so very close! And he got greedy again. “Maybe …” he cleared his throat, “maybe we should take it a little bit further. Just a little …”

She lifted her chin and he leaned down. He nibbled on her bottom lip and it was pure bliss. His hands found her waist. He loved her soft lips and how she smelled. He just loved her. She placed her hands on his shoulders. He wanted to pull her against him. He wanted to taste her. He wanted to carry her over to her desk and kiss every inch of her until she knew exactly how much he loved her.

Crap. He turned his head to the side. “Stop,” he gasped and held up his hands. “I just … I'm sorry.” He took a step back and hid his hands behind his back to keep himself from pulling her against him. He wanted to touch her. He wanted too feel her skin. Crap.

She bit her lip and looked away.

Crap. Now she thought she had done something wrong when in fact she had done everything right. Perfectly. Kissing her had been wonderful. He wanted to spent hours just kissing her, every inch of her. Crap. Shit!

He cleared his throat. “I'm just -”

“We don't have to kiss,” she cut in.

He wanted to kiss her every day. He wanted to tell her he loved her. But even hearing that when they were pretending in front of others made her uncomfortable. She would leave if she'd know the truth. He was sure of that. Their arrangement only worked for her because she thought they both came into it as friends. “It won't be a problem, May. I promise.” He wouldn't become a problem for her. He refused!

“Are you okay?” asked.

No. He smiled and tilted his head. “Are we okay?”

“Of course.” She smiled too.

“I don't want to lose you.”

“I don't want to lose you either.”

“So you'll stay?”

“I'm stubborn too.”

  


o0o

  


Tori and Anna had never looked more beautiful than dancing together at their wedding. They had been smiling so much, their cheeks must hurt. And Melinda couldn't be happier for them. The ceremony had been charming. Their self-written vows had Phil shed a few tears. Of course he had tried to hide them from her, but she had seen. She had cried too, but her hiding skills were superior.

Now Phil, Melinda and Maria stood at the sidelines of the dance floor and watched Tori and Maria dance their first dance.

“They look so happy!” Maria said.

Melinda smiled. “They really do.”

“Can you believe that in a few days that's gonna be you?” Maria asked.

“I can hardly wait!” Phil said.

Oh god, she loved that man! She looked at him while he still watched Tori and Anna danced. She just loved him so much. Her heart grew heavy.

Maria leaned forward and looked at Phil after the wedding dance ended and people started to join Tori and Anna at the dance floor. “Can I steal your fiancé for a dance?” she asked Phil.

Phil shook his head. “You can have the second one. The first and last one are mine.”

“Look at you.” Maria snorted. “The knot isn't even tied and you're already getting possessive.”

Melinda grinned. “Possessive sounds so much better than clingy.”

“I'm not clingy!” Phil said. Then he touched her arm. “Am I clingy?”

“Easy to fluster, too.” She smiled at him.

He squinted. “You're mean. But I'm gonna marry you anyway.”

“I'm a lucky girl.” she chuckled. “Now dance with me.” She offered her hand and he took it.

“See?” he said to Maria while he followed Melinda on the dance floor. “In truth, she's the clingy one!”

He placed his left hand on her back, she placed her right one on his shoulder and together, they started swaying to the music. A slow rumba. She loved how he touched her. She had loved kissing him. She just wished this could be true. She wished he would enjoy kissing her too. She had seen how hard he had tried. But kissing meant something to him. Something more than just lips touching. She loved that about him too. And she wouldn't put him in such a position again. No more kisses for her!

“I'm not clingy,” she said.

“It's okay.” He grinned at her and twirled her around before he pulled her back against him. “You can hold on tighter, I can take it.”

“One day your puns will get you killed.”

“No, they won't.” His grin widened. “You'll save me.”

Yes, she would. She always would. She wanted to kiss him so badly! Instead she looked over his shoulder and followed his lead until the song ended.

Before the knew song could really start, Maria stepped next to them. “May I interrupt?” she asked Phil.

Melinda didn't want to let go of Phil yet. She wanted to dance with him the whole night. Holding him like this didn't feel like complete betrayal. “You're eager,” she said.

Maria smiled and offered her her hand.“What can I say, you're an excellent dancer!”

Phil squeezed her hand and let go. “I'll come find you later,” he said.

“Okay.” She smiled at him. Right after the dance with Maria, she would come find him! She watched Phil walk over to Skye while she lead Maria into the next dance. Disco Fox.

“Now can you explain why you pine after a man you already have?” asked Maria under her breath.

Melinda's heart skipped a beat. “Excuse me?”

Maria glared at her. “Do you know how stupid it is for you to fake-marry Phil Coulson?”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fries! After that long dry spell it felt so good writing again. i can’t believe I finished that one shot and this new chapter! I hope you enjoy this! I’m gonna go rest then sleep. It’s ridiculous how exhausted I feel (darn allergy-pills)! Thank you for your support and comments so far! If I haven’t replied to you yet, I will do so tomorrow. Now I’m just too tired. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there's dancing.

“Maria -” Melinda tried.

“He loves you.”

Those words felt like a gut punch. Melinda looked over Maria's shoulder and swallowed. “He's heartbroken over Audrey. He doesn't talk about their breakup at all.” Usually he told her everything. He had told her every little detail of their relationship. He had been so happy, he just had to share. “He says I'm the only family he has left and he doesn't want to lose me.”

“But you love him.”

Yes. She pressed her lips together. Another gut punch. She loved him.

Maria sighed. “You do.”

“I can handle it.”

“I don't like this.”

She didn't like it either but everything else was worse.

Maria squinted at her. “I don't like this at all.”

“I can handle it, Maria.” There was no other choice. They danced in silence for the rest of the song. Her marriage to the man she loved would be a farce. But there were worse things in life, right?

She hated this. When Tori came to her for the next dance, Melinda forced herself to smile. It got easy quickly because Tori just oozed happiness out of every pore. She smiled and talked about their vows and how beautiful Anna had looked as if Melinda hadn't been there too. All that made smiling, very, very easy. Her own life might be a confusing mess, but at least her friends were happy.

Melinda danced with Anna, Anna's grandfather and Trip, before Phil stood in front of her again, holding two glasses of red wine.

“You look thirsty,” he said with a smile.

And she smiled back because how could she not? Damn. She took the glass and they stepped off the dance floor and sat down at one of the round tables, where they had served the wedding meal before.

Sipping their wine, they watched the dancers. Tori and Anna smiled at each other while they danced with their fathers. So much happiness. Her own wedding in less than a week would be different. It would feel a lot different.

“My feet hurt,” Phil said.

Melinda snorted. “ _Your_ feet?” She was the one in heels!

He sighed. “Skye has many talents, but she's not a natural dancer.”

She raised a brow and waited for him to continue. Usually he didn't need more than that. This time wasn't any different.

He sighed again. “I taught her to dance the disco fox and though my masterful teaching skills eventually paid off, she spent a majority of the time standing on my feet.”

“On your feet?”

He nodded. “Like a clueless four year old.”

She grinned at the image.

“That's better.” Phil smiled. “Now tell me what's wrong?”

“Maria knows,” she said.

Phil pressed his lips together and gave a short nod. Then, “She would never betray you. Never.”

“Why doesn't that freak you out?” she asked.

Phil shrugged and smiled. “You hated lying to her, now you don't have to.”

She stared at him. How could he still be so confident in this? How badly had Audrey hurt him that he would cling onto her so strongly? Because whatever he might've told Thomas, Melinda was sure that Audrey had broken up with him.

He sighed. “Please don't leave.”

“Not yet,” she mumbled. She wasn't ready to let go.

“We'll be alright, I promise,” he said. “Though I should warn you, Skye expressed interest in learning the rumba too and since my feet really can't handle any more of her today, I need you to protect me.”

“Same as always, then.”

He grinned. “Exactly.”

  
  


o0o

  
  


In three days he would marry the love of his life. Being excited about that was so foolish. Sometimes it was like his mind rejected reality. This was a farce, he knew that. He knew she didn't love him. But they picked out a venue and a chapel and a suit and a dress. She wore his mother's ring. He would kiss her once they said their vows. And he loved her so much.

Today, eight years ago, his mother had died. And Melinda wore her ring. He loved how it looked on her hand while she handed him the butter for his croissant.

She had shown up with consoling breakfast croissants twenty minutes ago. Since then, he had brewed some tea while she had set the table. He could get used to this so very easily. Breakfast with Melinda May.

“Do we have a plan for today?” she asked and bit in her croissant.

“You don't have to-”

“Over the last years we went mini golfing and ate tons of grilled cheese and ice cream.”

He smeared butter on his pastry. “My mom loved mini golf and grilled cheese and ice cream.”

“I know.” Her voice was soft and gentle. “So we stick to the tradition, then?”

He gave her a looped-side smile. “Sounds great.” Right now he wanted to tell her so badly that he loved her. The day of his mother's passing was always bearable thanks to her. He loved that she gave that to him. He loved her for being there for him. He would really appreciate some distraction from his love. He hadn't thought having her so close and still out of reach could hurt so much.

She frowned. “You want something else. Tell me.”

“No, really, you just being here is enough.”

“Phil, you get to do so much for me.” She shrugged. “This is one of the rare occasions, where I can give back.”

Rare occasions? Was she kidding? “You're my go-to person.”

“Excuse me?”

“Whenever something goes wrong, I come to you.” How could she not know that? He made sure to catch her gaze before he continued, “You're my go-to person. And you're always there for me.”

She looked down. “I love being your friend.”

“I love being yours.” He pressed his lips together. “I know I'm not your go-to person. That's okay. That's why I'm so glad Maria knows.”

“Phil -”

“I'm not mad that you told her first about the green card thing. I'm not mad that Tori and Anna knew before I did, I just …” He sighed. He was tired and sad because of his mother and because the love of his life didn't love him back.

“Maria and Tori overheard a phone-call I had with Thomas,” Melinda said quietly. “Tori told Anna.”

“It's okay.” It was. Somewhat. Still. She had waited months until she had finally told him. He wasn't her go-to person. He just wasn't. And she didn't love him.

She cleared her throat. “Telling you something makes things real and I didn't want to deal with that.”

He looked at her.

“You're …” She sighed. “You mean a lot to me. A lot. I can't tell you how much.”

“You could try.”

“I do!”

“You're right.” He nodded. He was behaving like a jerk. “Thank you,” he said. Time to change the subject. “You'll think my plan for today is stupid.”

Fortunately, she took the bait. “I thought mini golf's pretty stupid too.”

“Now that's a lie! You loved it!”

She smiled at him. “Just tell me, I promise to not roll my eyes.”

“There's a new Captain America museum and they offer combo-tickets where you get to visit the museum and later see the musical and -” he stopped himself.

She turned sideways and pulled her cell out of her jacket pocket.

Yeah. Good thing, he stopped himself. “You think it's dumb.”

Her fingers moved over the touchscreen of her cell. “I heard the actress who plays Peggy Carter is highly talented.”

“We don't have to go.”

She gave him a triumphant smile. “Already booked us tickets.”

His eyes widened.

Smirking, she put away her cell. “The internet is an useful invention.”

“You're the very best!” And he loved her so much! Being able to emerge himself into the life of his favorite hero would hopefully give him the distraction and the distance he needed not to lose her.

“If we hurry with breakfast, we could still go for a round of mini golf before we go to the museum,” she said. She moved her hand a little and the light hit the ring.

“She would've loved this. Us marrying,” he said before he could stop himself. “She suggested it a few times.”

“Did she?”

“Not so much suggested but flat out told me to marry you.”

“You miss her a lot.”

He nibbled on his lip. “Yes.”

“We can do whatever you want today. Whatever you want,” she said. Her voice was soft again.

He wanted to tell her he loved her. He had wanted to tell her every day ever since he broke up with Audrey. Not an option. “Do you think your mother approves of this?” he asked.

Melinda snorted.

That couldn't be good! He had always thought agent May liked him!

“I think she's over the moon,” Melinda said. “We're proving her right.”

He blinked. “What?”

“She said you'd be perfect for me. She said the only excuse for me breaking up with Thomas would be if it would've gotten us closer.”

“So that's how you came up with that story!”

Melinda tilted her head. “Is it really over between you and Audrey?”

“Yes.” He frowned.

“But you were so in love with her.”

“I was, I –“ He sighed. “Please, can we not discuss this?” One more question from her and he'd confess everything.

“I'm sorry, this isn't my place.”

Crap. “That's not -”

She shook her head. “You don't have to explain yourself.”

It would be safer for them if he wouldn't. Before he could despite of that, her cell rang.

She answered the call after quickly checking caller-ID. “Hi, mum. Is everything okay?”

“Why aren't you at your apartment?” he heard agent May ask.

“I'm at Phil's. Did you try calling?”

“No, I'm standing in front of your door.”

  
  



	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they meet with Mama May.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for all your comments and support! I’m sorry this took so long. Arand design had to take over for a while. I hope you are still interested in this!

“What if she sees right through us?” Melinda asked, keeping her eyes focused on the road as she drove to her apartment.

He could see the little crinkle between her brows. She was really worried about that. “All she'll see in me will be a man in love with you,” he said with confidence. Lin May was good at spotting truth, he hoped she would focus on that one and ignore the rest.

Melinda pressed her lips together.

“We can handle this,” he added.

But her lips stayed pressed together and the crinkle didn't vanish either.

He hated this. He hated seeing her so worried, he hated making her lie and he hated how very much he needed this to happen. How much he wanted to marry her. He sighed. “This isn't all a lie, you know? As fake as that marriage may be, I still want you to be happy. She won't know about the rest.”

She glanced at him. “What if she'll decide to stay with us until the wedding?”

Crap. He hadn't even thought about that! He swallowed. “Then she'll stay with us and I promise you croissants and pie every day.”

Melinda snorted. “Like that I'll have trouble fitting into my dress.”

“You bought a dress?”

Melinda stopped at a red light and looked at him.  “It's a suit. But it's white and it has a pencil skirt.”

He squinted. “You said pencil skirts restrict your movement.”

“I won't wear it for long.”

He envisioned her taking of a white pencil skirt to reveal white, lacy panties. Crap.  Crap! He clenched his hands on his lap and took a breath. “You bought a dress.”

“Yes.”

That was good. That meant even though she was worried, she still wanted to go through with his plan. He needed to focus on that. On their fake marriage plan. The very last thing he should do now was to remember how good it had felt to kiss her. And he definitely needed to stop imagining her taking her wedding dress off for him. Crap. “We'll marry in three days,” he said.

“And my mother just ambushed us.” The light switched and Melinda took a left turn. In about a minute they'd arrive at her house.

They were in such a mess!

After she parked the car on the parking deck of her apartment, Melinda switched of the engine and turned to him. “We can still stop this,” she said.

“But -”

“Don't worry about my mother. I'll take the blame.”

He sighed and tilted his head. “Please don't be scared. I promise you won't regret this.” He wanted to touch her so badly.

Melinda took off her seatbelt. “I looked into houses. Maybe we can distract my mother with that.”

His eyes widened. “You …?”

“Real estate is cheap at the moment. We should be able to buy something under value. Something with a pool.”

She wanted to live with him in a house. He would live with Melinda in a house. They would buy a house. And he would live with her in it. And he loved swimming. And he loved her. Crap!

“Does that freak you out?” she asked.

He cleared his throat. “No. I agree, the market is good at the moment.”

“I meant moving in with me.”

The thought of having to give that all up in three years broke his heart, but this didn't freak him out. He loved it. “Are you worried about that?” he asked.

“I want you to be happy.”

Being with her made him happy. He took off his seatbelt. “You said the house would have a pool?”

“I'm looking for houses that have a pool and a big kitchen.”

“Sounds great.” His heart skipped a beat. He loved cooking. He loved swimming. She wanted him to be happy. He loved her so much. Crap. He smiled at her. “I'm not worried,” he said. “And we can handle your mom.”

She sighed. “Then we better get out of the car.”

o0o

They found Lian May in the lounge area of Melinda's apartment building, sitting in one of the cushy green chairs next to a window. When she spotted them, she stood up and walked towards them.

Melinda was grateful to feel Phil's hand on her back as she steadied herself to face her mother.

“Hi, mom!”

Her mother tilted her head. “Melinda, Phil. How nice of you to join me.”

So they were off to a wonderful start. Great. “You could've called first,” Melinda said.

Lian squinted at her. “Next time, I will.” Then she smiled.  “It's good to see you both.”

“Good to see you too, agent May,” Phil said. “Will you be staying with us?”

“No, I arranged for a hotel room. I don't want to disturb the loving couple.”

Melinda kept back a sigh. “You're not disturbing us, mom,” she said. Then she remembered what day it was. “Since we didn't know you would arrive today, we already made plans to go to a museum and see a musical.” Melinda lifted her chin and looked at her mother. “Would you like to join us?” This was Phil's day. She wouldn't allow her mother to make it harder on him than it was.

“What kind of musical?” Lian asked.

“Captain America.”

Her mother frowned and looked from Melinda to Phil and back. Phil dug his head.

Lian frowned. “You're serious.”

“We don't have to go,” Phil said quickly.

Melinda shook her head. “You _love_ Captain America.”

“We can see it on another day.”

He was such a sweet man! But no. “Phil, really  …” she tried.

But he interrupted her and smiled at Lian. “What your daughter is trying to do is to distract me from the anniversary of my mother's death. Which is really sweet and kind but we really don't have to do this today.”

Lian's eyes widened, but she collected herself quickly and smiled at Phil. “Why not?” she asked and brushed her hand over Phil's arm. “I heard the actress who plays Peggy Carter is very talented.”

Relief washed over Melinda. As difficult as her mother liked to be sometimes, she always had her priorities straight.

“So you'll join us?” Phil asked.

Lian shook her head. “I think I'll spend my evening gambling. I'm in Vegas after all!”

“Are you sure?”

“I'm sure, Phil.” She smiled at him again. “And I'm starving.”

He grinned. “We can fix that.”

  
  


o0o

Lunch went pleasantly uneventful. Melinda's mother and he talked about the best casinos around town while they ate pizza at Melinda's favorite Italian restaurant. As it turned out, agent May was just as obsessed with pizza as Melinda was. Watching them eat had been amusing though he wasn't sure if it was wise to share with Melinda how similar she and her mother looked while biting into fresh, hot pizza. After ice cream for dessert, Lian May insisted to pay the bill.

Now they were walking through the inner city, past shops and restaurants towards the Captain America Exhibition. It wasn't a long walk and they all had decided that it was just the perfect thing after so much pizza.

Because her mother was here and because he loved it so much, he held Melinda's hand.

The weather was friendly, clouds shielded them from the sun and a soft wind cooled the air. People were walking around them, some hastily, carrying bags or wearing business attire, some took their time to look at the decorated windows or to lick their ice cream.

“So in three days is the big day,” agent May said. “Are you nervous?”

Small talk was over, then. He smiled at her. “Maybe a little worried she might change her mind and run.” And that was the absolute truth.

Melinda snorted. “I never ran from you. Not once. Usually I run _after_ you.”

“Usually to rescue me.”

“Usually.” She grinned.

Damn, he loved her so much.

“You two look good together,” agent May said, sounding very pleased with herself.

Phil grinned at her. “Your daughter is very beautiful.”

Melinda rolled her eyes and his grin widened.

“She doesn't like compliments,” he said.

Lian May nodded. “She never was graceful at accepting them.”

“Did she always roll her eyes like this?”

“When she was younger, she would blush, too.”

“Please stop,” Melinda said dryly.

He squeezed her hand when he spotted a smile on her face as well. He would love to kiss her now!

Then there was a thud and milk spilled over the floor. An orange rolled to Lin May's feet. Somebody had dropped their groceries.

Phil's eyes widened when he recognized them. “Audrey!”

Melinda let go of his hand.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they deal with broken hearts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your support throughout this story! This chapter wraps up the main plot, but there could be an epilogue, if you’re interested. As always, please let me know what you think!

His ex girlfriend stood just a few steps away from him, one foot in a puddle of milk next to a plastic bag full of groceries. Three oranges and a salad had escaped the plastic bag. Audrey held another bag in her right hand.

“Hello, Phil,” she said, her voice trembled. She looked at Melinda and forced a smile. “May. I heard the news. Congratulations.” She swallowed hard.

Melinda tensed. He missed touching her. He felt so stupid. Guilty.

“Thank you,” he said.

Audrey looked back to him. “You look good together. Happy.” Tears welt up in her eyes. She bit her lip.

Crap! He clenched his hand. “Audrey, I -”

“I have to go. I'm sorry. Congratulations again.” Audrey forced another smile, before she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving behind the bag of groceries with the spilled milk and them.

Agent May looked after her. “Who was that?”

“His ex girlfriend,” Melinda said.

Agent May tilted her head and looked at Phil. “The one you left for my daughter?”

“Yes,” he said. The one he wished he could've loved.

“She looked heartbroken,” Agent May said as she observed him, obviously waiting for a reaction.

“I wish I could've avoided that.” He hated having hurt Audrey.

Agent May frowned.

“I love Melinda,” he said.

“I can see that.”

“I'm not gonna hurt your daughter.”

“Not unless you can't avoid it, right?”

“Mom!” Melinda stared at her mother.

Agent May grinned. “I'm just toying with him. He isn't easy to fluster, so I had to take the shot.”

Melinda took a breath. Her hand returned to his. “The trick is to let him ramble until he flusters himself,” she said.

What?

Agent May's grin widened. “He rambles?”

“Just when we're alone,” Phil mumbled. And he didn't ramble that much! “Can you please stop talking about me?”

Smiling, Melinda squeezed his hand. This felt so good. This was worth the pain, even though it was fake.

“Are you two planning on having kids?” agent May asked.

Phil almost choked on his own spit. Oh. My. God. He coughed.

“Mom!” Melinda gasped and pulled her hand away from him. He hated how easy she could let go of him. He hated how badly he wanted to hold on.

Agent May tilted her head. “Two grandkids would be nice.”

If she kept talking like that, her daughter would never marry him. Good thing they made a plan to distract her.

“First, we plan to buy a house together,” he said as soon as he got his breathing under control again.

“Of course. Can't raise kids in your apartments.”

“I'm a little old to have kids,” Melinda said.

“We're not _that_ old.” If she wanted kids, they'd have kids. Maybe a dog, too. - Crap, what was he thinking about? His heart was racing. And this wasn't real. She didn't love him. They wouldn't have a dog. They wouldn't have kids. They wouldn't even be married. Not in the sense that meant something. He would have to let her go.

“You didn't talk about kids yet?” agent May asked.

Melinda straightened up and squinted at her mother. “We won't discuss this here for sure.”

“Melinda, …”

“Mom!”

Melinda and her mother stared at each other.

Phil cleared his throat. “So, we haven't looked at any houses yet but the market is good and Melinda already found a few objects worth checking out.”

“Do they have guest-rooms?”

… _to turn into nurseries?_ Lovely thought but if agent May wouldn't stop with this, her daughter might attack her. Phil put on his most peace-keeping smile. “She promised me a big kitchen so I can cook for her. Isn't that sweet?”

Agent May chuckled. “You're a good man, Phil.”

  
  


o0o

Her heart ached.

Phil sat next to her in the car, grinning from ear to ear while recapping the musical they just had seen together. In his defense, his impression of Captain America was decent. And at least he didn't sing.

When he started humming, Melinda rolled her eyes.

He noticed and stopped, ducking his head. “Sorry. The soundtrack's just so catching.”

She would get him the CD for goodbye. Vancouver wasn't that far away. They could handle a three hour flight.

She would miss him. It would break her heart and she would miss him terribly. But if today had taught her anything, it was that she couldn't stay either.

She drove into the garage of his apartment building.

They weren't that old, he had said. Not too old to have kids. Her throat closed up when she remembered his face that moment. He had looked at her with such affection and warmth. He would make a great father. He would make a great husband.

He started humming again.

She loved him so, so much.

Crap.

Audrey loved him, too. It had been obvious in her reaction to them. That poor woman had been heartbroken. That foolish, foolish man! How could he not have seen that? What had happened between them?

Whatever it was, she would not stand in the way of their reconciliation. She would not stand in the way of his happiness.

Pressing her lips together, she parked the car and turned the motor off.

“Are you tired yet?” Phil asked and took off his seatbelt.

She was so, so tired of pretending.

“Because I feel like I could defeat Hydra,” he said. “Have you ever played mini golf at night? There's a mini golf place not far from –“ He paused when he looked at her. “What's wrong?”

He deserved better than this. She folded her hands in her lap. “Audrey loves you still. It's obvious.”

He pressed his lips together, his eyes pleading with her.

And she knew she was doing the right thing. She would give him the out he needed. He deserved so, so much better. She swallowed hard and looked at the steering wheel. “I'm so grateful for everything you did and for what you're willing to do, but I can't.”

He took a deep breath. And another. “Please don't do this,” he mumbled then.

He broke her heart. “You can't give up on your life for three years just because of me.”

“That's not what I'm doing.”

“You take marriage seriously. You've always been serious when it comes to commitment.”

“That's not gonna be a problem.”

“It's a problem already! Because either you're running away from her because things got serious and you got scared or you're trying to settle for something you –“ She took a breath. This hurt so damn much! “We have a prenup and you're counting the days to our divorce. I can't- “ She pressed her lips together. She just couldn't comped. And she was his friend.

“I'm not …” He shook his head and sighed. “I don't care about the prenup as long as we can just -”

“Audrey loves you,” she interrupted. She clenched her hands. “You're clearly still heartbroken because of whatever happened between the two of you and you owe it to you both to fix that.”

“Audrey didn't break my heart.”

Bullshit. He couldn't even talk about the breakup because he was so hurt. But she humored his denial, “If Audrey isn't the right one for you, what if you meet them next year? Or next week?”

“Please don't leave.” He was begging.

Why couldn't he make this easier on her? Couldn't he see this was killing her? “You don't even like kissing me!”

“Excuse me?”

“When we kissed, you couldn't get away from me soon enough.”

“I love you!”

Her heart raced, blood was pumping in her ears. She stared at him, unable to find words.

“I love you. I love kissing you. I …” He sighed. “I was lying about lying. Audrey and I broke up because she wanted to move in with me and the only woman I want to live with is you, so I had to end it and I felt so foolish for constantly falling for you when you've never –“ He shook his head. “If you want to leave me you might as well do so for the truth.”

“I thought you were acting, I thought …” She didn't understand. “You love me?”

“Yes.”

She tried to calm herself. He was telling the truth, she could see. He loved her. Oh, God. She wanted to smile and cry at the same time. He loved her!

“I love you, too,” she said.

“No, you -” He caught his breath, blinked. “What?”

“I love you.” She smiled and ran her hand through his hair. She just couldn't resist touching him any longer. “I love you, too.”

This time, when they leaned into each other and their lips gently touched, it was perfect. Their posture was awkward and uncomfortable, kissing in a car bears that risk, but his touch was wonderful. How his mouth moved against hers, how his tongue teased her lips. His hands in her hair.

There were no witnesses here, nobody else to convince of their love. Just them.

  
  


o0o

They lay side by side in his bed, facing each other, breathing together. She ran her hands over his arms, his face. His caressed her waist, her hips, spread his fingers over her ribcage. Around them it was dark. It was late and she was tired. A good sort of tired, a happy one.

“I thought you loved her,” she said. “I wanted you to be happy.”

“I am.”

She brushed her thumb over his cheek and he turned his face to kiss her palm.

“I love you,” he said.

She loved hearing him say that. “I don't want to plan for our divorce. I don't want you do even think of divorce.”

“Good.” He kissed her palm again.

“I need you to be sure about this. To be absolutely sure that you love me and that you want this.”

“Okay.”

“So …” Her heart skipped a beat before she could get the next words out, “will you marry me?”

“Yes.” He smiled brightly. “Yes. I love to. Yes.”

“But it would be a real marriage and if that's going to fast for you, we can wait, date first and -”

His kiss shut her up. “I want this,” he mumbled against her lips. “I love you. I'm sure.” After another kiss, he pulled back a little so they could look at each other again. “Do you want to marry me?”

“Yes.” This made her so happy! She kissed him.

“That means we'll only have two days to live in sin,” he said and pulled her close.

Giggling, she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the engagement ends.

They found a little chapel with just the right mix of classic and modern. First they had wanted to just go there alone, but of course that didn't work out. Tori, Anna and Maria already waited there with Skye and Trip, when Phil, Melinda and her mother arrived.

The official, who performed the wedding, was a nice lady with full black curls and brown eyes named Miranda, that stroked exactly the perfect tone between light and romantic. Phil cried before they said yes. But so did she. Because, god, she just was so happy!

They exchanged rings and signed the papers.

“And that's it,” Miranda said smiling. “You're officially married!”

“But we didn't kiss!” Phil said.

Melinda took his face in her hands and kissed him softly. Behind them, their friends and family cheered.

“A solution to every problem,” Phil mumbled against her mouth before he kissed her again. “That's exactly why I married you.”

She just loved that man so much!

As soon as they let go of each other, her mother came up to them.

Lian took her in her arms. “Congratulations, baby,” she whispered into Melinda's ear.

“Mom …”

“I'm so happy for you. You look so happy.”

This was the happiest day of her life. Melinda smiled. “Thank you.”

Afterwards, the rest of their friends gave them their congratulations, too. Trip lifted her off the ground, but because it was her wedding day, she wouldn't lay him on the floor for it. She told him as much and he giggled.

Last, Maria hugged her. “It's real now, isn't it?” she asked quietly.

“Yes.”

“I'm so happy for you.”

“Me too.”

“I told you!”

  
  


o0o

  
  


Later, much, much later after a whole day of celebration, they lay in bed together, in the dark. They rested on their sides, facing each other, touching gently. They were just too tired for anything else.

“Today was the best day,” Phil said and stroked her shoulders.

“It was.” It had been beautiful. The little restaurant they had rented to celebrate had been perfect. They had danced so much, Melinda's feet hurt.

“You sound sleepy.” Phil caressed her face.

She was exhausted! “You sound sleepy, too.” She kissed his palm. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too. Tomorrow morning I'm gonna show you.” He leaned forward and kissed her gently. “You know what I mean by that, right?” he asked.

“Your sexual innuendo is too subtle for me, please explain.”

He chuckled. “I will, tomorrow morning I will explain everything.”

“Try to be detailed. I would hate for there to be misunderstandings.”

“We wouldn't want that!”

She kissed him. She just loved that man so much!

“Want a little teaser?” he asked then.

How could he resist. “Sure.”

“There won't be any clothes involved and it'll be very hands on.”

“Sounds great.” She smiled.

He sighed happily. “We're married!”

“We are.”

“I love you so, so much.”

“I love you too.”

“We're married!”

Giggling, she kissed him again.

“I love you so so much,” he said.

Gosh, he was so sweet! She rubbed his shoulders. “You need to catch some sleep, you're caught in a loop.”

“Can you picture it? Today, groundhog-day-style. Sounds pretty good to me.”

“I think that trope only happens when somebody needs to right a wrong.”

“We didn't do anything wrong today.” He sounded very pleased with himself. “We married. And I love you so, so much.”

They fell asleep in each others' arms.

  
  


o0o

  
  


A week later, Phil and Melinda sat at a table in a restaurant known for it's great brunch.

Phil looked out the window and straightened up before he waved at a young couple that walked towards the restaurant. He turned to Melinda “They're coming,” he said and covered her hand with his. “I love you.”

She just looked at him

He swallowed. “They're puppies and they ramble but they're also gifted. And I love you so much.”

She kept her stare. Messing with her husband was just too much fun!

“They need us, Melinda,” he said. “Did I mention how much I love you? Your smile is beautiful.”

She cracked and smiled. “I promise I won't bark at them.”

Now it was him who stared.

She raised a brow. “You don't have the monopoly on puns.”

“You're so hot right now!”

She laughed.

When the couple approached their table, both of them stood up.

“This is Melinda May. My wife.” Phil said. “Melinda, these are Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz.”

They shook hands.

“Nice to meet you two,” Melinda said and smiled. Phil was right. They really looked like puppies. Still squishy and innocent.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Simmons and Fitz said in sync.

They all sat down.

“So what can we do for you?” Phil asked.

“We need help with security,” Fitz said.

Simmons sighed. “We tried to build a system ourselves.”

“But it shot me.”

“Just your foot, Fitz. Don't be so dramatic. And it was just a sedative that left you feeling refreshed once you woke up the next day.”

Oh my god. Were these two serious? “A sedative?” Melinda asked, forcing herself to keep that smile on her face.

Simmons nodded. “I dabble in toxins.”

“She's usually more precise with the action time …” Fitz explained.

“I was going for half an hour. Enough time for the police to arrive, you know?”

“… but I _did_ feel refreshed afterwards.”

“Ten hours was a bit too long. I'm working on that.”

Melinda could just stare at them.

Simmons swallowed. “But we could really use some help.”

These two needed someone to keep them save! Phil and Melinda exchanged a look. Now she knew exactly what he had been talking about before.

“It'll be our pleasure, right, May?”

“Right.”

 


End file.
